Pentagon candidate concerned about Iranian influence in Iraq

Barack Obama’s candidate for Defence Secretary, Ashton Carter, has said he has concerns regarding Iran’s activities in Iraq that could undermine US efforts against ISIS (also known as ISIL).

American The Hill newspaper quoted Carter as saying to the Senate Armed Services Committee in advance of his confirmation hearing on Wednesday that: “I have concerns about the sectarian nature of Iran’s activities in Iraq.”

“The United States must continue to make clear to the Iraqi government that Iran’s approach in Iraq undermines the needed political inclusion for all Iraqi communities, which is required to ultimately defeat ISIL,” he said.

Carter added that “the United States has an interest in a stable, united, and inclusive Iraq with support from all of Iraq’s communities,” stressing that the Obama administration maintains there is currently no cooperation or intelligence sharing between the US and Iran in the fight against ISIS.

The Hill reported that some US lawmakers have come to the realisation that Shia militias were responsible for elements of violence against US forces during the Iraq war and continue to operate against ISIS forces on the ground.

US Senator John McCain said he learned during his visit to Iraq last December that, “the Shia militias are carrying a lot of fighting there.”

“They are the people we fought against during the surge,” he said, referring to the increase in US troops on the ground in Iraq in 2007.